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BRAND WEIBO CAMPAIGN
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Li-Ning China
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What I did
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China Creative Lead
China Insight
China Sentiments & Expressions
Print
Film
Art Direction
China Creative Production
Nationwide Production Supervision
Internal & External Team Management
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Li Ning is the most decorated Chinese athlete, with 6 Olympic Medals and three golds in a single game. In 1990, he founded Li-Ning Company Limited, a professional sports brand that carries an athlete's genes.
Mission
In 2010, the brand changed its slogan from ''anything is possible'' to ''make the change'', but Li Ning changed it again to ''change is not enough''.
While consumers have yet to grasp the meaning of ''change is not enough''. 2011 was the year the NBA Open Season was threatened with possible cancellation. Li Ning had a brand to build and secure retailers' confidence in their new promotional product and marketing strategy.
Solution
We strategically approached this campaign to demonstrate how the brand plays a crucial role when ''change is not enough'' and how its new products could help National Basketball Association (NBA) and China Basketball Association (CBA) professional basketballers achieve their greatness.
To manage all these tasks in a single campaign requires many balancing acts. We decided to do a brand film that ran in five episodes, fully encapsulating when ''change is not enough''. One would need to depend on ''Yi-qing Li-qing,'' a Chinese idiom famously known as strength profit with another strength to rise above obstacles.
Episodes 1 & 2
It begins with NBA professional basketballers Evan Turner and Baron Davis receiving a secret invite to discover their greatness in China. They meet the masters, who will teach them Yi-qing Li-qing, advancing their skill and strength, without realising they are being watched.
Evan Turner’s style of play is excellently intense—in Chinese, it's called ''yi''—it will further complement his strength when paired with the Li-Ning Conquer ET basketball shoe (below left).
While Baron Davis's style of play is electrifying—in Chinese, it's called ''kuang''—it will further complement his strength when paired with the Li-Ning Defend BD basketball shoe (below right).
Episodes 3 to 5
To strengthen the ''Yiqing Liqiang' Liqiang team, '' CBA basketballers Zhang Bo and He Tianju were summoned. After training with Baron and Evan, their master was kidnapped. Four of them embark on a journey to find their master and are confronted with a test of their strength. Can ''Yiqiang Liqing'' save them all?
Tianju's style of play is '' Yi, '' the same type as Evan Turner's; when he wears Li-Ning Conquer HTJ basketball shoes (below left), his strength is further enhanced.
Zhang Bo's style of play is 'Kuang', which is the same type as Baron. His strength will be further enhanced when he wears Li-Ning Defend ZB basketball shoes (below right).
Results
The campaign revitalised the brand and retail businesses, with a significant sell-thru of 200% on product promotion and 900% on product bookings for two consecutive years.
Another arresting idea.
